The Morris twins are off the hook.
Boston Celtics forward Marcus Morris and his brother, Detroit Pistons forward Markieff Morris, were found not guilty Tuesday in their aggravated assault trial in Phoenix.
The Morris brothers were indicted on federal aggravated assault charges in April 2015 after they were accused of helping three other people beat 36-year-old Erik Hood in January 2015. They had been on trial since Sept. 18 and had missed their teams’ training camps, as well as the start of preseason.
Prosecutor Daniel Fisher insisted the Morris twins “had an axe to grind” with Hood in his argument for conviction, but the Morris’ attorneys, Timothy Eckstein and James Belanger, argued Hood’s implication of the two NBA players was financially motivated, pointing out that two other co-defendants already had pleaded guilty to assault charges in the case. The other defendant, Gerald Bowman, was found not guilty.
Marcus Morris told reporters Tuesday he expected a “not guilty” verdict to be reached.
“From the beginning, we expected them to acquit,” Morris said, via AZCentral.com. “… I’m going to Boston. Gonna get back with the team.”
Morris was traded from Detroit to Boston on July 7 as part of the deal that sent Avery Bradley to the Pistons. The Celtics’ next preseason game is Friday in Philadelphia against the 76ers, where he’s expected to make his debut with his new team.
Thumbnail photo courtesy of Mark Henle/The Arizona Republic via USA TODAY NETWORK
